MIAMI, FL. A state inspector walked into New York/Roma Pizza and Pasta at 125 SE 2nd Avenue on September 17 and documented eleven high-severity violations in a single visit, including food sourced from unapproved suppliers, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and shellfish with no traceability records. The restaurant was not closed.
The visit produced one of the most serious single-inspection records in the facility's history. Eleven high-priority citations in one inspection places this visit at the top of a pattern that stretches back years, but it is the first time the count has climbed this high.
What Inspectors Found
The food sourcing violation is among the most serious on the list. When a restaurant receives food from an unapproved or unknown supplier, that product has bypassed USDA and FDA inspection, meaning no one has verified it was handled safely from farm or processor to the kitchen door.
Inspectors also cited the facility for food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, and for food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. Those two violations together describe a kitchen where incoming product may be compromised and what does get cooked may not be cooked safely.
The handwashing record is notable because inspectors wrote two separate citations: one for inadequate handwashing by employees, and a second for improper technique. That means the issue is not simply that workers skipped handwashing, but that even when they attempted it, the method was inadequate to remove pathogens.
Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled near food areas. The inspector also documented that the restaurant was not displaying a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked menu items, and that time was not being properly used as a public health control for foods held outside of temperature regulation.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of unapproved food sourcing and missing shellfish traceability records is particularly consequential. Shellfish, including oysters, clams, and mussels, are frequently consumed raw or lightly cooked. Without proper identification tags and purchase records, there is no way for health officials to trace a contaminated batch back to its harvest site if customers fall ill. That traceability gap is precisely what makes shellfish outbreaks difficult to contain once they start.
The illness-reporting failure adds a second layer of risk. Food workers who do not report symptoms of illness are the documented leading cause of multi-victim norovirus outbreaks. A single infected employee working a full shift can expose dozens of customers. The citation does not mean an ill employee was confirmed to be working, but it does mean the systems that would catch that situation were not in place.
Improper handwashing, especially with a separate citation for flawed technique, means the kitchen's most basic contamination barrier was not functioning. Hands that carry Salmonella, E. coli, or norovirus and are not properly cleaned become the transfer point for every surface, utensil, and plate they touch afterward.
The chemical storage violation deserves attention that it rarely gets. Cleaning agents and sanitizers stored or labeled improperly near food prep areas can contaminate food directly. Mislabeled containers create the risk of accidental use in food preparation.
The Longer Record
The September 17 visit was the 24th inspection on record for this location. Across those 24 inspections, the facility has accumulated 240 total violations.
The pattern across the eight most recent inspections is consistent and unbroken. Every visit since at least 2022 has produced a minimum of five high-severity citations. The counts from those visits: five high in September 2022, eight high in March 2023, seven high in August 2023, six high in December 2023, eight high in July 2024, six high in January 2025, seven high in July 2025, eight high in January 2026. The September 2026 visit, at eleven high-severity violations, is the highest single-visit total in that span.
New York/Roma Pizza: High-Severity Violations Per Visit
The facility has never been emergency-closed. Not once across 24 inspections and 240 violations.
Still Open
State inspectors have the authority to order an emergency closure when conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. That authority was not exercised on September 17, despite eleven high-severity violations that included food of unknown origin, uninspected shellfish with no traceability records, employees not reporting illness, and chemicals stored improperly near food.
The restaurant at 125 SE 2nd Avenue was serving customers when the inspector arrived. It was serving customers when the inspector left.
